A Heart of Destruction: A TAC Alternate Timeline
by Hyperjade
Summary: Something is very wrong with the world. Caleb notices it immediately, but everything seems like it has been thrown together by a chaotic entity and dragged along against its will. Something more dangerous than anything he has ever faced before is upon him, but he cannot see it. And everything is just getting more bizzare by the moment. (Oneshot)


Welcome. A bit of an explanation is due.

I sat in my chair, writing a chapter for Silent, when I perhaps should be writing New Age: World of Pokemon instead. Then, on a whim, I restarted watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. And then I stopped, because this idea popped up in my head. So now I'm writing A Heart of Destruction, when I should be writing Silent, when I should be writing New Age: World of Pokemon.

So, here we go.

This is a comprehensive take on my characters in a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure-like world, written by a young adult who has not watched JoJo beyond five episodes many months ago and has a rudimentary if not nonexistent understanding of the abilities and nature of the world of JoJo's Bizarre adventure, in which nothing makes sense and is not supposed to make sense, and thus even has a plot bunny hiding inside. This comprehensive, active failure to represent a beloved anime series is fully intentional and not meant to display any real knowledge of the series, intentionally written before the actual viewership of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Now, I'm well aware that anime fans more often than not prefer subs over dubs, so I'll be doing that for you today, for my own inconvenience. Subs in parentheses, for needless reference. All Japanese Translations are english phrases lazily placed into google translate.

You have been adequately warned.

* * *

Stars shone above like spirits dancing in what was supposed to be sunlight. Caleb's impassive face twisted into a scowl as he awaited the illusion's failure, and yet, that failure never came.

"Korera no hoshi wa, watashi ga shitte iru hoshide wa arimasen (These stars, they are not the stars I know.)" the absol murmured to himself. His gaze could not grow any fiercer at the time, as he looked up. "Nanika ga machigatte iru. (Something is wrong.)"

The absol began to walk, his paws practically gliding against the smooth stone he walked on as he abandoned his position at the tip of a shark-shaped cliff.

He came face to face with a particular electric mouse. The raichu looked concerned, if only because Caleb's expression had slipped its neutrality slightly. "Karebu, sora ni nani ga nasa reta nodesu ka? (Caleb, what has been done to the sky?)"

The absol's expression twitched in a grimace, sending a chill down the raichu's spine. "Jeiku. Kore ga nandeare, sore wa fushizendesu. Soshite, zan'nen'nagara, watashi o koete. (Jake. Whatever this is, it is unnatural. And, unfortunately, beyond me.)" he stated, looking up at the sky that looked for all intents and purposes normal, but with glaring flaws. The stars didn't align right. Constellations didn't exist, and were wholly uninteresting, which was in of itself, interesting.

Caleb turned away from his companion and looked slightly down, his eyes cast in shadow as he thought. 'Ni~Tsu wa yoru ni nari,-boshi wa machigatte imasu. Shikashi, sekai wa chokusetsutekina eikyō o ukete imasendeshita. (Day has become night, and the stars are wrong. And yet the world was not directly affected in any way.)' he thought. 'Taikijōran dakede wa… (The atmospheric disturbance alone should have…)'

Caleb gave a nigh-inaudible gasp as a potential conclusion reached him. Turning to Jake, he fired off an intense stare that sent a chill up the raichu's spine again. "Watashitachiha kūkan to jōsō taiki o shihai suru densetsunopokemon ni hanashi o shinakereba narimasen. (We must speak to the legendary pokemon that govern space and the upper atmosphere.)" he stated, before narrowing his eyes further. "Parukia. Soshite reiwaza. (Palkia. And Rayquaza.)"

Jake sucked in a breath as his pupils dilated, his surroundings darkening as thoughts raced through his mind. 'Palkia, Rayquaza! ? Watashi wa ryōhō no keiken ga arimashita! (Palkia and Rayquaza!? I have had rough experience with both of them!)'

Caleb stopped speaking. Instead, he started running, running away from the cliff. Jake stood there, uncertain as to how he would do what was requested of him, but the answer was probably down by the ocean, where Lapras could be waiting for him.

Caleb, for his part, raced into a town made of tents shaped like the heads of various creatures. The absol froze solid. There wasn't a single entity in sight. Silence deafened him, and his special senses failed him. "Naze watashi no tsuno wa nani mo kenshutsu dekinai nodesu ka? (Why can my horn detect nothing?)" he murmured to himself as he used his eyes instead, taking in every empty stall, every lightless house and dwelling.

Caleb closed his eyes, and sent his senses as far out as he could reach. There were pokemon. He could see Sarah, Jake, Erza… And nobody else. His lips tightened as he looked back. "Jeiku... Anata no pātonā ga yukue fumei ni kidzukanakatta nodesu ka? (Jake… Did you not notice that your partner was missing?)" he asked, expressing open disbelief.

Caleb stepped forward again, and as though to distract him, his senses went wild. A grunt rose unbidden from his throat as he looked around, feeling power surround him. Like the world itself had turned against him. His head ached as his danger senses poured through his mind like a siren, a ringing in his ears.

Then, the ground gave one, single shudder, and Caleb jumped back as the ground near him exploded.

Landing gracefully, Caleb turned to find the disturbance. It was some sort of blue equine, with a silvery, white mane. It stood on its hind legs with its forelegs crossed, and bore a cape and stereotypical wizard's hat that bore stars all over them.

"... Anata wa kono sekai ni zokushite imasen. (...You do not belong in this world.)" Caleb stated.

"Idaide kyōryokuna torikkī wa, kanojo ga yorokobu basho ni iku! (The Great and Powerful Trixie goes where she pleases!)" the mare glared at the absol, who gazed impassively back.

Elsewhere…

"... Namae o kudasai. (...Give me your name.)"

The man's face lay in shadows, eyes barely visible in the dark, with an odd metal contraption along his arm. He was tall, strong, and very clearly human.

Jake stumbled back, barely keeping his footing and watching the man carefully. "... Jeiku.(...Jake.)" he finally complied, hesitant for obvious reasons. "Nandeshou? (What do you want?)"

A sneer appeared, white teeth glinting in the starlight. "Watashi wa anata o hakai shitai. (I want to destroy you.)"

Jake recoiled.

The human touched his chest where his heart was, stepping into better light, revealing eyes filled with madness. "Naze watashi wa anata o sakanakereba naranai no ka wakarimasen... Shikashi, nanika ga watashi ni iwanakereba narimasen. (I do not know why I must tear you apart… But something is telling me I must.)"

Jake grimaced. 'Kare ni tsutaeru? (Telling him?)' he thought. 'Dare demo kore ga nandeare, karera wa nanika no shihai-ka ni aru ga,... Watashi wa jibun jishin o mamorudarou. (Whoever this is, they are under the control of something, but… I'll defend myself.)'

Elsewhere…

Erza spun her flail in her leafy hand while watching the bright opponent she was facing. Bipedal, with little fur except for a long collection of it coming from her head, pure white wings. Yet, her expression was vacant, her eyes unfocused.

"Watashi wa anata ni kutsū, kurushimi, sonshitsu o kanji saseru hitsuyō ga arimasu. (I must make you feel pain, suffering, loss.)" she murmured. "Watashi wa watashi ga shinakereba naranai yō ni kanjiru… (I feel like I must…)"

"Sate, anata ga nande are. (Okay, whatever you are.)" Erza replied, raring to go. "Don'na koto ga atte mo, atama no naka de hitto shitara, anata no kankaku ga anata ni modotte kuru hazudesu. (Whatever's messed you up, a good hit on the head should put your senses back into you.)"

Back with Caleb…

Caleb slowly rose out of a fighting pose, looking at his paw.

"Nanishiteruno? Sudeni bosshū sa rete imasu ka? (What are you doing? Forfeiting already?)" the Great and Powerful Trixie laughed aloud.

Caleb shook his head, causing Trixie to frown in concentration. "Anata ga watashi ni sore o shitai no to onaji kurai, anata o hikisakitai. (I wish to tear you down, just as much as you wish to do it to me.)" he replied. "Nanika ga machigatte iru. (Something is wrong.)"

Trixie paused, then laughed it off. "Ha! Anata wa chōsen suru koto o tameratte imasu! Idaide kyōryokuna Trixie wa, kanojo ga anata ni ataenakereba naranai itami o kanri suruto sugu ni, anata no kurushimi kara anata o sukuu koto o yakusoku shimasu! (Hah! You hesitate to take a challenge! The Great and Powerful Trixie promises to put you out of your misery, as soon as she has administered the pain she must inflict on you!)"

Caleb paused for a moment, his eyes in shadow once more. "... Soredewa, sore o motte kudasai. (...Have at it, then.)"

The two watched each other for an extended moment, before the pony dropped to all fours, bent her knees, and launched herself at Caleb, bringing back a forehoof as if to strike. Caleb narrowed his eyes as a dark shape began to form in front of him.

"Zūmupanchi! (Zoom Punch!)" The sucker punch struck home, the pony's shoulder dislocating and her foreleg stretching, bypassing the apparition and striking Caleb directly in the cheek. A grunt escaped him as he was tossed into the nearest rock, setting a paw upon his cheek as he considered the pain he was feeling.

"Sono tekunikku… (That technique…)" he muttered, standing up. "Anata wa kibarashi o teikyō suru koto o nozomimasu ka? Anata wa nani mo dekimasen ka? (You hope to provide a distraction? Is there nothing else you can do?)" he mocked.

Trixie glared, gritting her teeth visibly. "Watashi wa anata ni kono bujoku o kōkai sa serudeshou, tarutarosu ga umu! (I'll make you regret this insult, Tartarus spawn!)"

Caleb raised a single brow at the returned insult, before Trixie took a stance on her hind legs once more, her forelegs crossed over her chest, and a flash emanated in Caleb's vision. He briefly covered his eyes and then looked over his paw at the result. A bipedal entity stood before Trixie, looking like a bipedal bear that shone blue and sparkled with stars all over it.

Caleb took his stance as the beast charged swiftly, pulling off the summoning of that dark power from before, and out of the smoke of the clash, the bear had been stopped cold by the new entity, another biped, built like an absol, with ash gray, shaggy fur. A dark aura surrounded it, and its horn was angled rather than curved, and serrated. Its tail was serrated and even its teeth were serrated as it bared them at the bear, glowing red eyes piercing its own darkness.

Trixie flinched even as she held her pose. "Nani!? (What!?)"

"Watashi wa anata o kashō hyōka shimashita. (I underestimated you.)" Caleb stated, his expression not leaving his constant glare. "Ima, watashi wa anata o hakai surudeshou. (Now, I will destroy you.)"

Trixie sneered. "Kimi wa? Watashi o hakai suru, idaide kyōryokuna Trixie? Anata wa hontōni ukagaimasu! (You? Destroy me, the Great and Powerful Trixie? You are laughable indeed!)"

Caleb extended his paw. "Watashi ga hyōgen shite iru mono o misete kudasai. (Let me show you what I represent.)"

Trixie pressed herself forward slightly. "Anata no atama wa Trixie no torērā no kabe,-jū o kazarudeshou! (Your head will decorate Trixie's trailer wall, beast!)"

The apparitions separated and then began to unleash paw strikes at blinding speeds, attempting to bypass one another.

Trixie wore a confident smirk, before gasping and looking down at her hooves, which had begun to bleed. Her eyes darting back up, she saw why. "Kare no sutando, soreha tsume o nokogirihajō ni shite imasu! Sorera no pointo wa watashi o sashite iru! (His Stand, it has serrated claws! Those points are piercing me!)" she grimaced. 'Watashi wa sore o toru koto ga dekiru, watakushiha yori ōku no chikara o motte iru hitsuyō ga arimasu… (I can take it, I just have to have more power…)'

Trixie suddenly slammed her forehoof into the ground. Even as her Stand faded, she imparted power into the stone floor, and while the dark beast that passed for her opponent's stand raced forward, the floor broke under it, as the perfect strike sent power through both the stand and Caleb's footing, causing both to be destabilized. Her horn glowing, she looked up from the zone of impact even as her horn began to spark and glow. "Anata wa Trixie o osoreru koto o manabudeshou! Hamon ya sutando ijō no mono o ajiwatte kudasai! (You will learn to fear Trixie! Taste something beyond Hamon or Stands!)"

Caleb's eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter. 'Kanojo wa... Koreijō no chikara o motte imasu... Dōyō ni? (She… Has a power beyond this… As well?)'

A choking sound came from his mouth as he saw the attack coming, but the stones slipped under his paws when he attempted to jump away. The beam of magenta coloured power drilled him into the rock he'd hit before, burying him in the rubble as he was pushed halfway into the dirt before it went away.

Trixie scoffed and turned away. "Hmph. Trixie wa kare ga son'nani awareda to wa omowanakatta. (Hmph. Trixie didn't think he'd be that pathetic.)"

A low, low chuckle emanated throughout the makeshift arena. Trixie stilled, fur bristling at the sound. The pony turned back and gazed at the pile of rocks, before Caleb lifted himself out of them, taking a moment to relax, before turning his eyes towards Trixie. She could see it, he was hurt, whatever defences he had had been pierced by her raw magic, but she only saw a small, satisfied grin on his face, the absol then stood up plainly.

Trixie shivered. "Nani ga son'nani omoshiroidesu ka! ? (W-what's so funny!?)"

Caleb dropped the smile and looked up at her. "Anata wa watashi ni fushō shimashita. (You've injured me.)"

Trixie leaned back. "Anata wa fushō shite iru koto o tanoshinde imasu! (You're amused that you're injured!?)" she demanded. 'Itami ga kare o warawaserunaraba, kono ikimono wa nanidesu ka? (What is this creature, if pain only makes him laugh?)' she asked in her mind.

The absol held his paw over his left eye, which had taken some of the hit. "Machigainaku, kizu wa hotondo waraimonode wa arimasen. (Make no mistake, a wound is hardly a laughing matter.)"

Trixie blinked, uncomprehending.

"Watashi no goraku… (My amusement…)" Caleb continued. "Watashi no pātonā ga watashinokoto o bakabakashiku hogo shite iru to iu jijitsu kara umaremasu. Anata wa watashi o kizutsukeru koto ni yotte anata no unmei o mippū shimashita. (Derives from the fact that my partner is absurdly protective of me. You have sealed your fate by injuring me thusly.)"

Trixie grimaced. "Chikaku ni aruku korera no hen'na neko - inu - kari-jū no monsutā no betsu no 1tsu ga aru! (There is another one of these freakish cat-dog-reaper monsters walking around nearby!?)" she growled, starting to look around as if that would help her find this upcoming nuisance.

In that time, Caleb had approached, and spoke clearly, alerting Trixie to how close he was. Her pupils dilated as she heard his voice directly behind her: "Shinpaishinaide, kanojo wa totemo amaidesu. Mochiron, anata ga watashi ni fushō shite inai kagiri. Sorekara, anata wa sugu ni kanojo ga akunaki-en no jigoku no hi o konomudarou to kidzukudarou. (Not to worry, she is very sweet. Unless, of course, you have injured me. Then, you would shortly realize you would prefer the fires of hell to her insatiable flames.)"

Trixie twisted around and looked up at the beast standing so that they were muzzle-to-muzzle. 'Dono yō ni... Kare wa son'nani sugu ni totemo chikadzuita nodesu ka? (How… How did he get so close so quickly!?)' she demanded in her mind, scrambling back. Caleb allowed it, his expression reverting to the cold gaze that Trixie had begun to associate as 'normal' for him.

A cry of pain filled the air as Caleb promptly headbutted Trixie straight in the face, his harder skull taking very little damage as she was flung onto the ground.

"Karebu! (Caleb!)"

Distracted, the two combatants turned their heads to see the absol racing towards them. Bright red skin, and very light pink fur, blue eyes, and, upon seeing Caleb with some scorch marks and bruises, fury.

Trixie's horn glowed, and just as raw flames started to boil out of the being's mouth, she teleported away. A short, girly gasp escaped Sarah as she cut her fire short. "Anata wa doko ni ikimashita ka!? (Where did you go!?)" she roared.

Trixie leaned against the back of a nearby tent, breathing heavily. "Watashiniha keikaku ga hitsuyōdesu… (I need a plan…)"

Elsewhere…

Jake slammed into a rock wall full force, letting out a feeble squeak as he peeled off and collapsed onto the floor.

"Awaremi. (Pathetic.)"

Jake looked up, one eye closed from a cut on his eye as he watched the human above him. The stand of that same being floated next to him rather than in front of him, and looked like a sigilyph, of all things. "Nanika ga machigatte iru to kanjimasu. Soshite kare no tachiba ni wa seishin-ryoku ga ari, watashi wa chikadzuku koto ga dekimasen… (Something feels wrong. And his stand has psychic power, I can't get close…)" he struggled to his feet as he said so, only to be smashed into the rocky surface again by an unyielding boot.

"Watashi wa kōsei ni nokosu mono o mite kudasai. (Meet the ones I leave behind in the afterlife.)" he said, as the eye of the sigilyph began to glow a bright pink. Jake closed his eyes and waited, but for a moment, he thought he heard words of encouragement. Memories of Caleb telling him to get up and not take no for an answer, Swampert standing by him whenever he could, though he, like so many others, weren't around today for some reason…

Jake grunted and started sparking with electricity. The opponent reared back.

"Kono ratto wa sono senzai nōryoku o hakki dekimasu!? (This rat can unleash its electric potential!?)" the man barked, trying to jump back.

"Watashi wa anata o osorete imasen… (I'm not afraid of you…)" Jake frowned as he stood up. "Naze ka wakaranai ga, watashi wa sōde wanai. Shikashi, koko de watashi wa anata o utsu koto ga dekimasu! (I don't know why, but I'm not. But here's why I can beat you!)"

Jake raised his paws in the air, and then dropped them onto each other directly in front of him. Electrical power coalesced into a sphere of condensing power, the sound of flowing current reaching the man's ears as Jake shouted in exertion: "Ontaimu boijā zappukyanon! (Time Voyager Zap Cannon!)"

The human and his stand was enveloped into the massive yellow attack, vanishing from sight as the scorching power raced across the surface of the ocean and into the distance, leaving Jake huffing and puffing.

"Tameshite miyou... Hokanohito o sagasu.. (Gotta… Find… The others…)" Jake groaned, placing a paw on the first solid surface he could find, the wall he was against. "Watashi wa yowai to kanjiru... Shikashi, watashi wa idō suru hitsuyō ga arimasu… (I feel weak… But I need to move…)"

Elsewhere again…

"Sutando no tame no kurai monsutā de tenshi wa nani o shite imasu ka? (What is an angel doing with a dark monster for a stand?)" Erza asked, teasing the defeated opponent. "Kyōryokudesuga, osoidesu. (Powerful, but slow.)"

The cloaked, dark being with glowing red eyes faded as she fell unconscious, only for that being to seemingly glitch out, red, grainy bars of light appearing randomly and consuming the creature, leaving nothing behind.

"... Sore wanaku natta. (...It's gone.)" Erza muttered.

Elsewhere…

"Watashi ni me! (Eyes on me!)"

Sarah tumbled out of the way as a chunk of the abandoned Kangaskhan's Storage. "Monogoto o watashi ni nagetsukete, anata o hai ni kae sasete kudasai! (Stop throwing things at me and let me turn you to ash!)" she barked right back.

Trixie's Stand chucked a few boxes at the unaware absol from a nearby stand that used to belong to a xatu, and it vanished before Sarah's next angry flamethrower could reach it. Trixie herself was breathing heavily as she kept darting in between these tents. A quick spell, and she was shouting seemingly from a different direction: "Trixie wa orokana yandere doragon, matawa anata ga nandeare mudanisuru jikan ga arimasen! (Trixie doesn't have time to waste on a stupid yandere dragon, or whatever you are!)"

A shriek of rage followed by the sound of a good chunk of the remaining buildings had Trixie reevaluating the value in having all her cover turned into glowing piles of ash. She didn't want to join them.

From hitting the other absol, Trixie learned that they were fairly frail, despite having a great deal of raw power. So, she threw her voice once more, opposite the field from where she hid: "Idaide kyōryokuna Trixie wa, kanojo no pawā ga nani o suru koto ga dekiru ka o misete kurerudeshou! (The Great and Powerful Trixie will show you what her power can do!)"

Yet another huge swath of town burned. Trixie didn't hesitate. She leapt far over her hiding spot, and crossed her forelegs. "Shokku to kyōfu! (Shock and awe!)" she shouted, and her stand flashed into existence above Sarah.

Sarah whirled up as soon as the shadow crossed her, looking up at the beast. "Nani!? (What!?)"

The creature plowed into Sarah, a flurry of paw strikes capable of crumpling metal pounding her deeper and deeper into the dirt. Sarah's image was lost among the flurry of attacks. The roar of constant attacks drowning out everything else, leaving the absol as a mess, injured and bleeding in many spots.

"Sara! (Sarah!)"

Trixie barely passed a glance at the other absol, which had run in too late, and leapt up.

Caleb skidded to a stop and stared up with gritted teeth at the growing shadow above him. The mare's attack wasn't done!? 'Kono yaban'na koto... Kanojo ni sore o shiyō suru ni wa dōshitara īdesu ka? Naze watashi wa kore o minai nodesu ka? (This brutality… What could possess her to use it? Why did I not see this coming?)'

Trixie came back down, gripping a huge house-shaped trailer under her as she used gravity to her advantage. "Sutējitorērādesu! (It's a stage-trailer!)" she roared, slamming into Sarah from above. She regained her footing, and started delivering a series of hamon-charged strikes into the collapsed structure, before taking a deep breath and firing one more strike into it. It paused, and exploded violently as she took a mighty leap away, and landed gracefully to the side.

Caleb was frozen in place. His pupils having shrunk to pinpricks. He couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, judging by the look on his face. He took a few steps forward, and flung the rubble of of that spot, not that there was enough big pieces left for that to be a hassle.

"Nani mo nokotte inai... Nokori no chi o nozoite. (There's nothing left… Except for the remaining blood.)" Caleb murmured, tears reaching his eyes. "Nanika ga machigatte iru. Watashitachi wa kono yowai hazu ga arimasen, kono koware yasui... Soreha... No yō ni… (Something is wrong. We shouldn't be this weak, this fragile… It's like… Like…)"

A high pitched giggling interrupted his thoughts before he reached a conclusion, thoroughly distracting him. He turned his gaze up to the laughing unicorn as his eyes grew sharper, colder. Fiercer.

Trixie finally managed to look at her remaining quarry, and stopped.

'Totemo samui… (So cold…)'

Trixie couldn't move. Those eyes… They were the fiercest, and frostiest, she'd ever seen. She felt like she was being held in a glacier. That ice kept on coming, kept on encasing her. Soon, she would never escape. Locked into those forceful, freezing eyes. "Totemo samui… (So cold…)" she murmured again.

Silence fell between the two of them. Freezing aura seemed to be filling the chattering mare as she trembled. "Sore wa totemo samuidesu... Anata wa nandesuka, kyūketsukidesu ka? (It's so cold… What are you, some sort of… Vampire?)"

"... Dai (...Die.)"

Trixie gasped as color seemed to come back into the world, and she fiercely summoned her Stand before her, the bear striking back at the sudden stand of the other creature that was now larger, taller, more powerful. "Dō yatte!? Totsuzen, kare no sutando wa don'nani tsuyoku natta nodesu ka? (How!? How is his Stand suddenly so much stronger!)"

There was a mighty crunch as the monster's paw struck her bear-like stand, and the raw impact shattered the arm of the stand. A shriek filled the air as Trixie's left foreleg audibly and visibly crumpled. Another mighty smash crippled her other foreleg by proxy. The third strike slammed right into the bear's muzzle, promptly breaking Trixie's snout and crushing it somewhat less than the others, as the Stand faded, leaving Trixie to hang her forelegs limply and balance on her hind legs, hunching over as her broken muzzle leaked blood from her lips on either side, and from her right nostril. She was silent, in shock.

Caleb dismissed the Stand silently and stood before her, eyes still so frigid. So fierce. He raised his paw, and one of his claws emitted a sharp, dark power that lanced forward, stopping right before Trixie's face.

"Watashi wa anata o kurushima serubekidesu. (I should make you suffer.)" Caleb stated, pausing, then retracting the claw. "Demo shinai. Anata no kōdō wa muimide, tokiniha watashi no mono mo arimasu. Nanika ga ibento o sōsa shite imasu. (But I will not. Your behavior is nonsensical, and so has mine at times. Something is manipulating events.)"

Caleb was stopped by something. Red glitches raced across his whole form haphazardly, and he suddenly sneered. "Watashi wa anata no jinsei o owarasenainode, sukunakutomo anata ga sara ni ataeta itami no 10-bai o ataeru koto ga dekimasu. (Since I won't be ending your life, I can at least give you ten times the pain you gave Sarah.)"

Trixie's eyes widened, and she still couldn't speak, barely forcing herself to stand through sheer force of will. She then closed her eyes, and awaited the punishment she would receive.

"Karebu, nanishiteruno?! (Caleb, what are you doing!?)"

The conjoined voices distracted Caleb, and he whipped his head to the side. Erza and Jake leapt back in shock. "Anata no me ni wa nani ga okotta nodesu ka? (What happened to your eyes!?)" Erza demanded.

Jake quivered. "Anata wa chihō shite iru yō ni mieru... Fushizen'nanode… (You look demented… Unnaturally so…)" he added weakly.

The standstill lasted several moments, until they saw the demented look start to work its way out of his eyes. Caleb suddenly clutched at his head with his paws and yowled in pain as he staggered back on his hind legs and collapsed onto his back. His friends rushed to him as he writhed, before he stilled.

"Karebu… (Caleb…)" the two friends whispered at the same time.

Caleb slowly lowered his paws. "Watashi wa sore o rikai shita. (I've figured it out.)"

His friends looked at each other, and looked back.

"Watashitachi no kōdō, hoka no dare mo koko ni inai to iu jijitsu, hoka no sekai-tekina kotogara, yosō-gai no kotogara. Watashi wa sore o kaiketsu suru koto ga dekiru to watashi ni jishin o ataeru tame ni jūbun'na jōhō ga naku, sore ga medatsudearou ten ni machigatte, sora. Watashi no kokoro, subete no sōsa. Sore wa subete... Nisemono. (Our behavior, the fact that nobody else is here, otherworldly things, unexpected things. The sky, wrong to the point that it would be noticeable, but without enough information to give me confidence that I can fix it. The manipulations of my mind, everything. It's all… Fake.)"

Everyone recoiled, staring at Caleb as if he was crazy.

"Riaritī wa dare ka hoka no darekaga don'na katachi o totte ite mo, kyōfu to itami o kanri dekiru yō ni tsukuridasu tame ni wa, owari no gēmu wa… (Reality's twisting into whatever form someone else wants, to create as much fear and pain as they can manage, the endgame must be…)" Caleb continued, before he glitched again, red glitch effects racing across him as his eyes widened in silent pain. It stopped for a moment, before blood spurted out of his mouth and ran down from the ends of his lips on either side.

"Karebu! (Caleb!)" they shouted, catching him as he slumped, shuddering, staring into nothing.

"Jeiku, nanika ga kare no atama to karada ni kugidzuke ni natte iru (Jake, something's screwing with his head and body)" Erza said gravely. "Soshite sore ga nandeare, sore wa chikaku no dokonide mo aru hitsuyō wa nai yōdesu. (And whatever it is, it doesn't seem to need to be anywhere nearby.)"

Jake grimaced. "Tasuke o ukeru hitsuyō ga arimasu yo ne? Shikashi, watashi wa anata igai subete no pokemon o mita koto wa arimasen. Daemyn, matawa watashitachi no chīmumeito sae arimasen. (We need to get help, right? But I haven't seen a single other pokemon other than you all. Not even Daemyn, or our teammates.)"

Erza grimaced. "Shikashi, wareware wa tameshinakereba naranai.-Sa mo nai to… (But we must try. Otherwise…)"

Everything went red for a moment. And when it was back into focus, Erza and Jake could not breathe. Caleb's own eyes went from deraged to wide eyed and fearful. In but a moment, their positions had been changed. Now Caleb faced them both as they stood side by side, and his shadow claw was unleashed from his paw. One claw piercing Erza, another piercing Jake, right in their chests.

Time froze, as Caleb attempted to process what he was witnessing, the horror of it. However, he shortly realized that time had literally frozen.

" **Anata jishin o tanoshinde imasu ka? Watashi.** ( **Enjoying yourself? I am.** )"

Caleb would have frozen if he could. But his gaze was locked onto his friends.

A shape flickered in the midst of a bunch of those red, grainy rectangles that signified the glitches, indiscernible due to the speed at which it vanished from sight. " **Watashi wa kore ga anata no chīsana pōtaru kara hanareta toki ni kanjita hōhōda to omou. Shibito wa hijō ni koware yasui.** ( **I bet this is how you felt when you walked away from that little portal of yours. Mortals are so fragile.** )" he heard, a gleeful, demented chuckle emanating somewhere near him. " **Baainiyotte wa, kesshite dageki o ukenai baai demo, hayaku kowareru koto ga arimasu. Mirikiteki de tanoshī…** ( **Sometimes, they can break faster if they're never even hit. Fascinating, and delightful…** )"

" **... Watashi ga doko ni iru ka shiritaidesu ka?** ( **...Would you like to know where I am?** )"

Caleb wanted to know.

In a moment, a face flashed in front of his vision. A gruesome face flickered in front of his vision. It had blood red eyes, with blood leaking out of them, a torn lip, and blood-matted fur. The face of an absol. And more concerning, it was Caleb's own face. " **Watashi wa koko ni imasu** ( **I'm here.** )"

The world went read, and it was back to what it was before, with Caleb on his belly instead, and his friends miraculously not skewered.

Then he appeared. The apparition. The glitch. The air filled with those error marks, as a creature blinked into existence in front of all three.

It was Caleb. Or it looked like Caleb. It was in a slightly curled up position, back arched, eyes looking down upon them. Deranged, destructive eyes. This variety of Caleb appeared to be bloody and damaged. Chipped horn and tail, loosely hanging limbs tipped with poorly cared-for claws. Rot and open wounds ran rampant throughout this entity's form. Only about half of it was the proper colors of an absol at all. It even wore Caleb's armor, but the armor was cracked, a large fissure along the bottom left of it, through the green gemstone, to the upper right.

"Anata wa nanidesu ka? (What the hell are you!?)" Erza demanded, backing up, using her arm to lead Jake back as well. 'Kono kankaku wa nanidesu ka? Naze watashi wa sebone o furuwaseru dake no furue o emasu ka? (What is this feeling? Why do I get a shiver up my spine just glimpsing him?)' she wondered in her mind, narrowing her eyes at the vile intruder that had just forced Caleb to try and kill them both.

The thing let out a chuckle without moving its lips. " **Watashi wa nanideshou?** ( **What am I?** )" it repeated, vanishing and appearing directly before Erza.

Erza gasped, as she shivered. 'Watashi wa watashi no karada o ugokasu koto ga dekimasen! (I can't move my body!)' she thought.

The freakish entity's eyes met Erza's, their demonic nature seeming to pierce her soul as she struggled to do more than shiver in place. " **Watashi wa shūkaku nōkadesu**. ( **I am a farmer, harvesting.** )" it growled, sounding amused. " **Junbi ga totonou made 30-bu matanakereba narimasendeshita.** ( **I had to wait for half an hour until you were ready.** )"

Caleb pushed his way in between Erza and the monster. "Anata jishin o setsumei shite kudasai. (Explain yourself.)" he commanded.

A smirk. " **Moshi anata ga zetsubō ni oikoma reru dakedeareba, butsuri-tekina gai o ukeru koto wa kesshite dekimasen.** ( **If only because it will drive you to a despair you can never reach through physical harm.** )"

Caleb attempted to pull Erza back, only to stop the moment those red glitches flickered brighter when he did, not willing to risk any harm coming to his friend.

" **Watashi Wa… GLITCH.** ( **I am… GLITCH.** )"

The stars above began to flicker and disappear, the moonlight turning red as the monster appeared before Caleb and seemed to grip him in some invisible force, lifting Caleb up to eye level and constricting his throat just enough to make breathing difficult. " **Kono karada ni wa uchū gurēdo no chisei ga tsumatte imasu. Yōsuruni, watashi wa kamidesu!** ( **A universe grade intelligence crammed into this body. In short, I am a god!** )"

"Kami. Anata wa watashitachi ni anata to tatakau koto ga fukanōdearu to shinji saseru koto ni yotte, watashitachi no zetsubō o tsutaeru koto o imi shimasu. (A god. You mean to impart despair in us by having us believe that fighting back against you is impossible.)" Caleb replied as calmly as he could. "Watashitachi no sekai ni nani o shimashita ka? (What have you done to our world?)"

GLITCH gave off a demented giggle. " **Anata no sekai ni wa nani mo shimasendeshita.** ( **I didn't do a thing to your world.** )"

"Nani? (What?)" Caleb asked.

GLITCH used a claw to poke Caleb on the small piece in his forehead, and it cracked suddenly. Caleb's eyes widened as he stumbled back and placed a paw on his damaged forehead, blood beginning to well up from within the serious wound and drip down his face.

" **Kono sekai wa watashi no monodesu** ( **This world is mine.** )" GLITCH informed the absol. " **Watashi wa sore o tsukutte, mawari ni yokotawatte iru koto ga wakatte iru ta no uchū no danpen to danpen kara sore o matomemashita. Watashi wa anata o tsukutta, watashi wa anata no yūjin o tsukutta. Anata wa hogo sa rete iru sonzai ni tamashī no nai yōsu o misete ori, hogo-sha wa anata no sonzai ni kansha suru.** ( **I made it, patched it together out of bits and pieces of other universes I found lying around. I made you, I made your friends. You are soulless lookalikes to beings that exist that are protected, and you have their protectors to thank for your existence.** )"

"Watashitachi ni tamashī ga nai to iu koto wa dōiu imidesu ka? (What do you mean we have no souls?)" Jake asked.

GLITCH sneered, blood dripping from his mouth. " **Sore wa anata ga watashi no mokuteki o hatasu tame ni hinjakuna ishiki o ataeta sora no funedearu koto o imi shimasu. Watashi wa kanjō o kanji hajimeru no ni jūbun'na keiken o atsumeru yō ni shimashita, soshite, ima, watashi wa tanoshimu koto ga dekimasu.** ( **It means that you are empty vessels that I gave a meager consciousness to serve my purposes. I let you gather just enough experience to start feeling emotions, and now, I can have my fun.** )"

Erza hissed. "Soshite, anata no yōna mono ga tanoshī to iu koto wa nanidesu ka? (And what does something like you mean by fun?)" she demanded. "Oshietekudasai! (Tell me!)"

"Dono yō ni shite, tanin no sanzai shita bubun kara uchū o kōchiku suru koto ga dekimasu ka?(How can one even build a universe from scattered pieces of others?)" Caleb quietly added, using a paw to keep the blood from his forehead from dripping into his eyes. Erza and jake looked at him, and breathed in sharply. Something behind his eyes seemed so defeated.

'Sore wa, nisemonodearu to iu gainen ga, kare no konpon-tekina nanika o kowashite shimatta yōna monodesu. Hitobito ga tatakai tsudzukeru koto. (It's like the notion of being a fake has broken something fundamental in him. That which keeps people fighting.)' Erza thought to herself, even as she heard the demonic 'god' speak behind her.

" **Chirabatta bubun kara uchū o tsukuru no wa kantandesu. Mochiron, ikutsu ka no fukusayō ga arimasu.** ( **It is easy to build a universe out of scattered parts. Of course, there are a few side effects.** )" the beast said, gesturing vaguely out towards everything with a foreleg. " **Mottomo kenchona no wa, wareware ga subete betsu no gengo no kowareta bājon de sore o ninshiki sezu ni hanashite iru to iu kotodesu. Kono patchiwāku no kaibutsu no eikyō wa, watashi ga ie ni yorokonde yobidasu koto ga dekimasu**. ( **The most obvious of which is that we are all speaking in a broken version of another language without realizing it, an effect of this patchwork monstrosity that I can happily call my home.** )"

It blinked in front of Erza, looking her right in the eyes. " **Anata no ta no shitsumon ni tsuite wa... Watashi wa anata ga kurushimu hitsuyō ga arimasu.** ( **As for your other question… I just need you to suffer.** )"

Erza flinched. "Kurushimu? (Suffer?)"

" **Hai.** ( **Yes.** )" GLITCH growled, placing a paw pad on her cheek, claws digging into her face ruthlessly, even though she visibly held in her pain. " **Watashi wa sore de han'ei suru. Watashi wa sore o jūbun ni eru koto ga dekimasen. Jūbun'na keiken ga areba, kanjō o kihon-tekina reberu de kanjiru koto ga dekimasu. Sō sureba, watashi ga anata o kurushimeru toki ni hontō no kanjō o kanjiru koto ga dekimasu.** ( **I thrive on it. I cannot get enough of it. I let enough experience reach you so that you could feel emotions on a basic level, just so that it could feel real when I torment you.** )"

"Sore igai wa? (And the others?)" Caleb demanded quietly.

" **Monogoto o nageru tame no kihon-tekide muimina omocha.** ( **Basic, meaningless toys to throw at things.** )" GLITCH stated, before appearing near Trixie, who had not moved or so much as twitched, as if she was frozen in place, her forelegs hanging limply and balanced on her hind legs, snout visibly smashed. " **Hotondo. Anata wa kore o osorete shimatta. Kanojo wa chōdo kanojo hodo sora de, kore wa izen no kanojo no ippodesu**. ( **Mostly. You managed to give this one fear. She's just as empty as you, which is one step above what she used to be.** )"

"Mōhitotsu shitsumon ga arimasu (I have one more question.)" Caleb spoke up, quiet. "Anata no shusshin-chi wa dochiradesu ka? (Where did you come from?)"

There was a pause as GLITCH briefly ignored him. " **Anata wa nanimonai ga, anata wa mada watashi ni inshōdzukeru koto ga dekita. Uchū no haiboku no kono muda no zan'nin-sa... Anata ni hakushu no raundo.** ( **You are nothing, but you still managed to impress me. The brutality of this waste of space's defeat… A round of applause to you.** )" he commented, before floating away from the mare and approaching Caleb, smirking. " **Anata wa... Anata wa watashi o tsukutta.** ( **As for you… You made me.** )"

Erza and Jake stiffened. "Nani!? (What!?)" Erza demanded. "Dono yō ni shite Caleb ga anata o tsukutta nodarou ka!? (How the heck could Caleb have made you!?)"

"Sore wa kureijīdesu! (That's crazy!)" Jake added.

Caleb growled. "Watashi ni uso o tsukanai. (Do not lie to me.)" he grumbled.

Red glitches lanced across Caleb's figure, and he stiffened, and almost collapsed. His friends caught him.

"Watashitachi wa anata o motte imasu, karebu. (We've got you, Caleb.)" Erzai stated in a reassuring tone, before looking at her arm that was supporting Caleb's chin. '... Ketsueki? (...Blood?)'

Caleb's mouth was leaking blood, as he struggled for breath. GLITCH appeared directly before him, lifting his chin up with an invisible force so that they were meeting eyes. " **Anata no shōrai, anata wa watashi ni kono karada o ataemashita. Watashi no uchū ni anata no karada no enchōsen o aruki, kōtai dekiru katachi de aruite ikimashita. Sore wa watashi no te ni kindatta. Sore o haijakku shite konpō o okuru no wa totemo kantandeshita. Anata no idaina igyō no subete ni taishite, anata wa isshun no uchi ni, mattaku awaredesu. Soshite sore yue ni, watashi wa doko ni itte mo nandemo yari, jibun no goraku no tame ni tanin o gōmon suru koto ga dekimasu. Sore wa anata no seidesu.** ( **In your future, you gave me this body. Walked into my universe with an extension of your body in a form you could retreat from. It was gold in my hands. It was so easy to hijack it and send you packing. For all your great feats, you were for a moment, utterly pathetic. And because of it, I can go anywhere, do anything, torture others for my own amusement, and it's your fault.** )"

Caleb didn't respond. Instead, he seemed to be gagging.

GLITCH smiled. "Kokyū ni komatteimasu ka? ( **Having trouble breathing?** )" he asked, watching the immobile absol struggle silently, " **Anata jishin no chi de anata no hai o mitasu tame ni watashi wa dono yō ni shitsureidesu. Shinpaishinaide kudasai. Moshi anata ga shindemo, watashi wa anata no yōna tamashī no nai kara o, ningen no katachi de anata no yubi o hamekomu yori hayaku fukkatsu sa seru koto ga dekimasu. Chōdo miru.** ( **How rude of me to fill your lungs with your own blood. Don't worry, even if you die, I can revive a soulless husk like you faster than you could snap your fingers in human form. Just watch.** )"

And they watched, not that they had much choice, as the bloody mess underneath all of the wood and debris from earlier flickered, and in a flash of the same red glitches that identify everything that GLITCH does, Sarah stood again, in good condition. Her expression was one of raw confusion, looking around.

"Karebu? Nani ga okotta? (Caleb? What… Happened?)" she asked. "Watashi wa... Nagura rete ita, soshite... Sore wa itai. (I was being… Beaten, and… It hurt.)"

Caleb tried to close his eyes, but he couldn't. His vision was beginning to get blurry.

"(Oh, Sarah~)" Caleb heard from GLITCH, but GLITCH Was using his voice! Sarah turned right away, and saw Caleb and GLITCH side by side.

She ran over, a smile on her face, only to grind to a halt upon registering their appearances. 'Karera wa naze kizutsuite iru nodesu ka? Naze 1tsu wa kado ni shukketsu shi, mō 1tsu wa chimamire de kusatte iru nodesu ka? Naze sorera no 2tsu ga aru nodesu ka? (Why are they hurt!? Why is one bleeding excessively and another one bloody and rotten!? Why are there two of them!?)' she asked in her mind as she twitched, unsure of how to continue on.

Caleb grimaced. 'Watashi wa nagaiai ishiki o hoji suru koto wa dekimasen... Watashi wa honmonode wa nai yō ni kanojo wa honmonode wanai kamo shiremasenga, watashi wa mada kanojo ga hashiritaidesu. Watashi wa mada ki ni shite imasu… (I cannot keep consciousness for long… She may not be real, like I am not real, but I still want her to run. I still care, even though…)'

Sarah watched his mouth begin to move. 'Kare wa nani o itte imasu ka? Kare wa... `Hashitte iru' to kuchi o akete imasu... Mōhitotsu wa hiretsudesu... Ā, iya… (What is he saying? Is he… He's mouthing 'run'... The other one is sneering… Oh no…)'

Sarah, instead of running, immediately sent a burst of flame at the floating one. It flashed out of the way in a flurry of red, grainy rectangles of light. Caleb's eyes whipped towards where GLITCH now resided as it passed, even with his eyesight fading. 'Kare wa... Sore o saketa… (he… Dodged it…)' Caleb thought before he lost consciousness and fell, blood leaking out of his open mouth even more.

Sarah shouted Caleb's name and started to run forward, but the world turned a dark, grainy red for everyone. When it all stopped, Caleb was up once more, up real close to Sarah. But Sarah could only focus on his eyes and the sharp pain in her throat. Caleb's claws were embedded in her throat from below, and she felt like she'd just been rammed in the throat by an aggron. She attempted to speak, only to cough out blood as Caleb's wide, fearful eyes gave way to some kind of frosty, intense look. He leaned forward, and whispered something that she heard and memorized like her life depended on it. Then, GLITCH noticed.

" **Sora de tamashī no nai seibutsu no geijutsu wa madamada omoshiroidesu. Karera no `sōrumeito' no mimi ni amayakasa rete iru koto o sasayaku yō ni kyōsei sa remashita. Tatoe karera ga otagai o gōmon shinakereba naranakute mo.** ( **The art of empty, soulless creatures is still so interesting. Compelled to whisper sweet nothings into the ear of their 'soulmate', so to speak. Even when they are forced to torture each other.** )" he told them, enveloping their reality in the dreaded, grainy red rectangles, glitching the universe. Now Caleb was hanging very much lifelessly inside Sarah's jaws, the female absol finding the taste of Caleb's blood in her mouth with her fangs buried deep in his neck, holding him aloft. She turned, dropping Caleb, glaring at the monster.

Erza and Jake surged forward to try and tend to Caleb, on the verge of breaking. Instead, they all blinked, and now it was Erza's sword and Jake's iron tail piercing Caleb's chest as they held him right before them.

Caleb, awake and alive in the moment, whispered to them just what he had said before: "Kare wa kizutsukeru koto ga dekimasu… (He can be hurt…)"

New resolve flashed in his friends eyes even as everything went dark for Caleb again. Their next few moments were filled with random glitches in reality as GLITCH entertained himself, each iteration of events involving one or two of the four friends that GLITCH had chosen to torture being murdered by their comrades. What was sick fun for him felt real for the others.

Unbeknownst to him, his victims were looking at him with increased determination. They had memories of their soulful counterparts, and where GLITCH used that to cause them pain, it gave them determination to get through it.

Erza, Jake, and Sarah were bleeding out slowly, Caleb standing above them with intense eyes, presumably having been put in a situation where he had just sentenced them to death by that fate.

GLITCH appeared in front of him, meeting eyes with the distraught male absol. " **Kono yō ni anata o gōmon suru no wa watashi o shiawaseni shimasu. Hontōnotokoro, anata wa sutōnīna hyōgen no haigo ni jibun o fūjikomemashita. Sore o yaburu to, nise no bājonde sae, watashi o shiawaseni shimasu.** ( **It makes me happy to torture you like this. The real you sealed himself behind his stony expression. Breaking it, even a false version of it, makes me happy.** )" he told Caleb to his face.

"Tashika ni,-shin wa jibun no jikan to kurabete yori yoi koto o shite imasu. (Surely a god has better things to do with his time.)" Caleb responded as calmly as he could, his voice trembling.

GLITCH frowned. " **Watashi wa anata no tōn ga kiniiranai. Kami o sonkei shite kudasai.** ( **I do not like your tone. Treat a god with respect.** )" he demanded. With the barest display of visual power, his glitches flickered over Caleb's body, mostly his head. Caleb's eyes widened considerably as he started shivering where he stood. " **Hm. Anata ni kyōfu o sosogu to, anata ni tamashī no yori ōku no tamashī ga kizuka remashita. Osoraku, watashi wa anata o watashi no asobi to shite tsukau no ni tsukareta toki ni,-ji no jikan ni sore o motto hayaku surubekideshou.** ( **Hm. Pouring fear into you built a smidgen more of a soul into you. Perhaps I should do that next time, to make it faster, when I tire of using you as my playthings.** )"

GLITCH took the terror stricken copy of Caleb, and his lips turned up in a vicious smirk as Caleb was physically forced into a bow, gritted teeth from the pain of the strain GLITCH was purposefully putting on his bones. " **Watashi wa anata no kotoba o kiku dakenara,-guchi ni kotoba o iretai to omou.** ( **I think I would like to put words in your mouth, if only to hear you say them.** )" GLITCH mused. Some cracks were heard as GLITCH put more pressure on Caleb, fracturing some bones as Caleb spoke as mentally directed.

"Dō ka, watashi no omo yo... Watashi ni jihi o… (Please, my lord… Have mercy on me…)"

This made Sarah angry. GLITCH turned to her as a roar echoed throughout the entire town. " **Kyōryokuna kanjō wa, jikan no keika to tomoni tamashī o yori ōku no kōzō ni suru yōdesu.** ( **Powerful emotions seem to give their souls more structure over time.** )" he commented, unconcerned. Then his eyes widened marginally at the flames, fueled by pure rage, were much more powerful than any attack he had ever faced. The borderline nuclear attack enveloped the sadistic god and reached into the sky at a forty five degree angle It continued on for several minutes, long minutes in which Sarah continued attacking despite becoming more and more exhausted.

When the flames finally petered out, Sarah had exerted so much energy that she was almost ready to drop.

" **Anata wa nemurenai kamo shiremasen.** ( **You may not fall asleep.** ")

Sarah's eyes widened. She was looking at GLITCH, unharmed. Her exhaustion was present, but she didn't seem capable of closing her eyes and falling to that lack of power. "Shikashi… (But…)" she started, trailing off.

Suddenly, Sarah straightened, under GLITCH's power. Blood red rectangles flashed across her body as cracks and splintering sounds began to ring out. At first, it just appeared to be her legs fracturing in multiple places. Then, the cracking became harsher and centered around the ribs. Promptly, the internal bleeding was signified by that blood escaping as she coughed, hacking at the sudden invasion of her lungs. Finally, the cracking sounds rose along her spine, and then finally to her head, her skull making sickening fracturing sounds as her eyes rolled up until only whites showed.

Then, GLITCH caused a violent explosion within her, unleashing a blast upon everyone, and leaving absolutely nothing left.

Erza stared at the scorch mark where Sarah had been. "Watashi wa kare o korosudarou. (I'll kill him…)" she swore.

GLITCH didn't move, but his effect flashed across where Sarah was, and there she was again, in fairly good health, recreated. She collapsed to the floor, this time falling unconscious right away.

The others watched with gritted teeth as GLITCH freely tortured Sarah, repeatedly breaking her, burning her, freezing her, destroying her, and recreating her in painful bursts. He had the expression of a child in a candy store behind the broken and bloody orm he had chosen in order to be frightening.

"Anata wa kare ga kizutsukeru kanōsei ga aru to iimashita. (You said he could be hurt.)" Erza hissed at Caleb, not without an accusing tone.

Caleb grimaced. "Kare wa hayaku kōgeki o yametanode, sore o itta. Kare wa nanika ga kuru no o miru no ni jūbun'na jikan ga atta toki, sara no hi no yō ni sore o uchikeshita. (I said that because he dodged an attack earlier. When he had plenty of time to see something coming, he negated it, like Sarah's fire.)" he whispered back, attempting to get it all out before GLITCH got bored and returned his attention to the three others that were standing there.

" **Anata ga kodomo no yō ni oshaberi suru jikan ga areba, kurushimi o suru no ni wa umaku yatte wa ikemasen.** ( **I must not be doing a good job at making you suffer if you have time to chatter like children.** )" GLITCH commented as he shifted to the side, letting them see what he had left Sarah like. Razor wire had been threaded through her body as if pulled through holes punched in by bullets, wrapping around her while she slowly bled and struggled, whimpers audible to all of them.

The god witnessed rage appear on all three of their faces, including Caleb's frigid brand of anger, but he was unconcerned. " **Anata wa mabushi-sa de watashi o kowagara seru to shinjite imasu ka? Anata wa hontōni ikite imasen. Anata wa watashi ga asobu omocha ni sugizu, watashi wa jibun jishin o tanoshimu tsumoridesu.** ( **Do you believe you can frighten me with a glare? You are not even truly alive. You are nothing but a toy for me to play with, and I intend to enjoy myself.** )"

The absol, servine and raichu were slammed into the ground, power surging on top of them, cushing them flat against the ground.

"Sekai no omo-sa ga watashi no ue ni aru yō ni kanjiru… (It feels like the weight of the world is on top of me…)" Jake groaned. "Futatabi… (Again…)"

GLITCH didn't seem to like that he was speaking, and promptly increased the force of gravity on the soulless copies. Cracks echoed through the air as the three let out little whimpers of the pain that GLITCH sought after as he started to crush them flat.

Blood spurted from Erza's mouth first, her thinner, more slender frame being more easily crushed. Then, much to GLITCH's visible surprise, she put her head just slightly up, eyes meeting him fiercely.

He put so much force into her from above invisibly that the earth shuddered, leaving two remaining, two who were now lying trapped in the messy aftermath of the servine going two dimensional. The whimperings of the raichu had ceased, so GLITCH let up on him, leaving only Caleb, lying there helpless. He left the suffering absol on that level of gravity to get close and speak.

" **Watashi wa anata no kurushimi o kanjiru koto ga dekimasu. Anata ga hontōdearu ka dō ka ni kakawarazu, anata ga hōkai suru no o miru koto wa totemo manzokudesu. Anata no itami ga watashi o yashinau. Watashi ga dekirunara, anata ga kowarete shinu no o nando mo mimamoru koto ga dekimasen.** ( **I can feel your suffering. It is so satisfying to see you break, whether you are real or not. Your pain feeds me. I can't get enough of watching you break and die, over and over again if I can.** )"

Caleb didn't try to look up. GLITCH smirked and smashed him flat, like he had done to Erza. Reverting gravity back to normal, he willed their destroyed forms to slowly come back together, relishing in the agonized moans that came from his victims, as their healing process was clearly even worse than the force that had destroyed them.

GLITCH silently picked Jake up telekinetically and looked him in the eyes, willing him awake and alive. Jake found himself helpless not in front of GLITCH, but in a glowing prison of some sort, a disc held firmly in place in space, his wrists and ankles held to it.

" **Sorekara, anata ga imasu.** ( **Then, there is you.** )" GLITCH continued, looking at Erza and Caleb as they reformed, though he was speaking to Jake. " **Nezumi. Amarini mo ōku no jikan ni kamikudaka reta pazurupīsu wa, ima dewa kare ga doko ni muite iru kani wa gatchi shimasen.** ( **The rat. The puzzle piece that was chewed on too many times, and now can't fit where he's supposed to.** )"

Lightning flashed out of nowhere, and GLITCH was now in Jake's face while Jake recovered from the blinding light and the intense ringing in his ears. " **Watashi wa tensai no yūjin no naka kara anata o erabimashita. Nazenara, anata ga dorehodo kantan ni kowarete itakaradesu. Anata wa tan'ni soko ni iru dake de, tsuneni soko ni sonzai shimasu. Korera subete no hito no uchi, anata wa zettai ni... Anata wa dare mo imasen.** ( **I chose you out of all the genius' friends because of how easily you are broken, not because you are anything special to them. You are simply there, always simply there. Out of all of these people, it is you who is absolutely… Nothing.** )" GLITCH said that last word as if he wasa relishing it, witnessing the emotional confliction and agony on the raichu's face. Then, the god sneered. "( **Let me prove it to you.** )"

GLITCH shifted to the side, showing Jake the mostly formed bodies of Caleb and Erza, looking at them as he continued to speak. " **Hebi. Shōdō-tekide mudana ikimono. Kanojo wa kanojo no jinsei de totemo ketsui o motte itanode, watashi wa kanojo o eranda. Hoka no nanika ni yotte kowasa renai hito o kowasu koto wa, watashi ga motomete iru yorokobidesu. Soshite kanojo ga tan'ni tsugi no kutsū o matsu toki, kanojo ga kowarete iru toki, watashi wa kanojo o sutete, zero kara atarashī mono o tsukurimasu.** ( **The snake. The impulsive and wasteful creature. I chose her because she was so determined in her life. Breaking those who cannot be broken by anything else is a joy I demand. And when she simply waits for the next torment, when she is broken, I will discard her and make a new one from scratch.** )"

GLITCH forcibly guided Jake's eyes to Sarah in the corner of his vision, still bleeding and suffering where she lay. " **Empath. So no yōna kanjō-tekina ikimono ga hageshiku naru no o miru koto wa yorokobi dakedenaku, watashi wa kanojo o eranda nodesu. Atakamo sono yōna mujitsu to yasashi-sa no hakai ga, jibun no kokoro ni nokogirihajō no ha o toru yōna monodearu ka no yō ni.** ( **The empath. It is not only a joy to see such an emotional creature falter, I chose her because when the others see the empath broken, they break as well. As if the destruction of such innocence and goodness is like taking a serrated blade to their hearts.** )"

Back to Caleb, who was in the final stages of healing, his shattered horn locking itself back into one piece, but GLITCH had left his eyes from the regeneration, leaving them empty, open wounds that bled. " **Subete no hajimari, watashi no hajimari.** ( **The beginning of it all, the beginning of me.** )" he finished. " **Watashi wa kono yōna mono o eranda nodesu. Akiraka ni, jibun no yōna kami wa natsukashī ki ga shimasu. Mōsukoshi. Shikashi, watashi ga kare o eranda no wa, watashi ga anata to issho ni mina o tsukuri dasu koto o erandakaradesu.** ( **I chose this one because apparently, a god such as myself is subject to nostalgia. Little else. Although, it is because I chose him that I chose to create all of you alongside.** )"

GLITCH took one last, legthy look at Jake, making sure he was watching, before turning back. Erza, who had just managed to recollect herself, stiffened and cried out in a sound only describable as raw fear and pain. She fell onto her arms and legs, as her body shuddered and jerked. Jake watched in horror as her body squirmed from within.

'Kokkaku!? (Bones!?)' Jake thought with disgust and fear as he saw long, curved, white protrusions burst out of Erza's back, aiming downwards as if she was becoming some sort of demonic porcupine snake. Her back arched as those bones continued bursting out, her green skin turning black and unnervingly wilted, like a dying plant. Her eyes took on a pure red, hateful glow as a dark aura began surrounding her. Her flail appeared, but it was dark, and shaped more medieval-like rather than a simple sphere with spikes. It was more of a curved cylinder with rows of spikes coming off of it, with a longer chain as she grew in size, towering over him and Caleb. Finally, her sword appeared as well, still a rapier, but dark, and longer.

GLITCH, having successfully turned Erza into a monster, turned back to Jake. " **Anata wa kore o ninshiki shite imasu ka?** ( **Do you recognize this?** )" he asked, managing to make it sound like a mocking tone. " **Anata wa sore o ninshiki subekidesu. Kekkyoku anata no kioku karadesu. Ā, watashi ni anata ni omoidasa sete kudasai.** ( **You should recognize it. It is from your memories, after all. Oh, let me remind you.** )"

GLITCH leaned forward, and touched a claw, covered in dried blood, to Jake's forehead. In the blink of an eye, Jake felt trapped in a memory, feeling it as though it were real. The land around him was burning, he was in a field with a mountain nearby, shining with a magnificent green light amidst all the burning red and empty darkness. Then, Erza, the monster, blocked his view of that light. Her flail was spinning, pure red eyes conveying nothing but hatred. Whatever had done this to her, he didn't think there was anything left.

Erza brought the flail down on him.

With a gasp, he awoke, going limp as GLITCH removed his claw, chuckling. Jake only looked up to see the same monster approaching him. "Tomete, Erza. (Please stop, Erza…)" he pleaded, whispering too quietly for anyone to hear him.

Erza readied her rapier, before pressing it slowly into his shoulder. Jake suddenly screamed as he felt like a combination lightning-fire attack had struck him and was burning away at his shoulder. He swiftly looked at the wound the blade was still causing, seeing black smoke, raw, malignant energy, poisoning him. That darkness spread along his shoulder, stopping a few inches away from the wound.

Erza pulled out the blade, seemingly under an unspoken directive from GLITCH himself. Then, Erza placed the blade near his left knee on his hind leg, and did the same. Shouts echoed throughout the world as Erza did this multiple times, leaving him with wounds poisoned by a mythical energy equivalent of pure, unfiltered evil, black patches spreading across his body, stopping at a point where he was half dark, one eye red, breathing heavily as he tried to recover, and failed to do so.

" **Kono kurai chikara wa anata no sekai no inshō-tekina tokuchōdeshita. Watashi wa jibun jishin de sore o omoitsuita to omou. Akui no aru mono wa, tanin o shihai shi hakai suru shinpurude yūdokuna kiri no katachidearu. Dareka o kowasu yōna kanpekina hōhō.** ( **This dark power was such an impressive feature of your world. I wish I had come up with it myself. Malignance in the form of a simple, poisonous mist that could control and destroy others. Such a perfect way to break someone.** )" GLITCH seemed to be praising the dark power itself. Jake winced with the eye he still had control over.

Then, GLITCH turned to him. " **Watashi wa anata ga korera no ikimono no yō ni mieru koto o kesshite mananda koto wa arimasen. Anata wa, watashi no jishin no goraku no tame dake ni, anata no chīsana nō no doko ka de anata no yūjin Erza no yō ni dete sakende iru koto o shitte irunode, anata ga mawatte iru ma, jūbun'na ishiki o motte imasu.** ( **I never learned what you would appear like as one of these creatures. You will have full awareness while you are turned, just for my own amusement, knowing that somewhere in that tiny brain of yours, you are screaming to get out, like your friend Erza.** )"

Jake twisted and groaned as the darkness covered the rest of his body swiftly, before his form started building in size. Claws erupted from his toes, Pieces of his tail broke apart or sharpened, leaving them serrated, as his teeth did the same. Dark electricity began swarming around him, but the most painful part was that his imprisonment was still sized for him from before, so as he was pushed forward, his arms were dislocated as they were held back, though he no longer had the capacity to scream. Finally, GLITCH seemed to leave him alone, turning back to Caleb again.

What he met was a blue laser blade much like a psycho cut, but not pink. GLITCH twisted out of the way, but it left a sizable gash on his side. The vicious attack traveled across and broke Jake's imprisonment in one slice, leaving Jake's left hand behind with it, not that it mattered at the moment.

" **Kimi wa…** ( **You…** )" Caleb's actions seemed to have sent GLITCH into a mostly silent rage. In the blink of an eye, Caleb had metal spikes spearing him clean through from all sides, but GLITCH's power clearly kept him alive while he was there. Those spikes started to glow red hot, as the effect of GLITCH's powers flickered across Caleb's horn and splintered the sensitive instrument, making him shudder in place as GLITCH started stacking as many torture elements as he seemed capable of thinking of on Caleb. Water was dripping from his mouth, possibly originating from his lungs. His horn was being fractured slowly, likely sending absurd amounts of signals to his brain that amounted to pure agony and danger. " **Anata wa anata no kami ni fureru koto o aete! ?** ( **You dare touch your god!?** )"

Erza and Jake's uncontrolled bodies attacked GLITCH in that moment, but the monster was ready. They were back to normal in the blink of an eye, and being subjected to just what Caleb was. For good measure, the bladed wires in Sarah glowed red hot as well.

GLITCH touched Caleb's head with his claw, just like he had done to Jake. Memories that were his, but not his, flooded his brain as GLITCH went into a tangent. " **Awarena hito, anata ga nandearu ka o misete agemashou! Anata no kōdō ya fusakui ga anata no sekai o dainashi ni shite kita daitai no taimu rain o minasan ni o mise shimashou. Anata no taimu rain wa chōdo anata ga anata no shiawasenaketsumatsu o motsu koto ga dekiru yō ni bi chōsei sa remashita. Anata ga shikei o senkoku shi, muzai no 2-ri no kodomo ga iru koto o mite kudasai. Anata ga rūru o yaburi, anata no kowareta jiko to anata no mottomo kyōryokuna yūjin no naka kara hitotsu no jittai o tsukuridasu no o mite kudasai. Anata no nakama dake ga anata ni totte motto jūyōdearu to iu riyū dake de, sekai o moyashite bunmei o hakai suru no o mite kudasai. Anata wa watashi o kizutsukerudarou, karebu! ? Anata ga zasetsu shita toki no subete no daitai taimu rain o mite, anata no shippai o tōshite hoka no subete no entiti ga kanjita zetsubō o kanjite kudasai. Sore o kanjiru! Anata ga aisuruhito o ushinau yori mushiro zen sekai o mushiro hakai surunode, jibun ga ima made ijō ni hakai suru no o mite, anata ga mottomo ki ni shite iru mono o osorete kudasai. Anata wa sudeni kowarete iru yō ni miemasu! Watashi wa kamidesu. Anata wa amarini mo kaibutsu de, anata ni wa amarini mo yoi mono to issho ni ikite imasu. Anata wa watashi no hoshi no ari de, dasuto no bakuhatsu-tekina hanten ga nanika kireina mono ni natte imasu. Kyūkei, shinu, watashi wa anata ga kowarete mite mitai!** ( **Let me show you what you are, pathetic creature! Let me show you every alternate timeline where your action or inaction has brought your world to ruin. Your timeline was tweaked just so you could have your happy ending. Watch as you sentence yourself to death and with you two innocent children. Watch as you break the rules and make one entity out of your broken self and your most powerful friend. Watch as you burn worlds and destroy civilizations just because your mate alone is more important to you. You dare harm me, Caleb!? Watch every alternate timeline where you screwed up and feel the despair every other entity felt through your failure. Feel it!** **Watch yourself destroy more than I ever have and frighten the ones you care about the most because you would rather destroy whole worlds rather than lose a loved one. Look how broken you already are! I am a god, while you are just a lowly monster, living with those too good for you. You are an ant to my star, the barest speck of dust blemishing something clean. Break, mortal, I want to see you break!** )"

Jake and Erza could see through their tears of agony, as Caleb visibly broke, just as commanded. Whatever GLITCH was showing him, however many moments in which everything had gone wrong, it had sent the absol catatonic entirely. He stared into nothingness, not dead, but, as with all of them, not alive. Soulless, but still in pain, just as GLITCH wanted him. GLITCH set a paw against his cut side, silent, as he floated in place. Then, Caleb flickered, and he was freed from the spikes and apparently from what GLITCH had just done to him.

GLITCH spoke: " **Watashi wa mada anata to yaritoge rarete inainode, anata ga kowarete iru to kurushinde wa ikemasen.** ( **I'm not done with you yet, and you cannot suffer if you are so broken.** )"

Caleb turned a wary, ignorant gaze to his friends. Erza slowly shook her head no. Desperately pleading for him not to try and hurt GLITCH again. She turned towards GLITCH herself immediately afterwards. 'Sore wa watashi no monodesu. (it's up to me.)' she thought.

While Caleb backed down, Erza leapt forward, silently as possible, ready to drive her sword right through GLITCH's head.

She stopped mid air, halted by an invisible force. GLITCH looked at her, and if she didn't know he was quite literally pure evil, she would have mistaken the look for disappointment.

" **... Hitobito o kowasu hokanohōhō ga arimasu.** ( **...There are other ways to break people.** )" he announced simply, before Erza was promptly folded in half backwards, so much so that even her snake-like body's spine snapped in half. Then, he made a motion with his paws, and crushed her under an immense amount of pressure, condensing her body to a speck of plant matter visibly no larger than a marble before she could so much as shriek. Then, he set her to heal very slowly as he moved on to the others.

Regenerating from that was considerably worse than Erza had experienced before. For one, GLITCH had managed to keep her mind awake during the brutal crushing she had received, so she experienced every part of the healing process. From being uncompressed, to her bones clicking back into place and reforming, to her eternal organs shifting around into their rightful places. She couldn't even make a sound until she was mostly repaired, before she fell to the ground in a heap, unsure of how much time had passed.

"Erza… (Erza…)" she heard Jake's voice. He sounded much more defeated than before.

She looked up, not at Jake, but at GLITCH. The other three were nearby her as the monster faced them, being in the middle of speaking.

" **Empath wa kanojo ga nando mo watashi o kōgeki shitanode, mazofusutodenakereba narimasen. Watashi wa kamidesu, watashi wa sono yōna awarena kōgeki ni yotte korosa reru koto wa arimasen.** ( **The empath must be a masochist as well, for how many times she has attacked me. I am a god, I cannot be killed by such pathetic attacks.** )" the creature boasted as it was busy cracking and twisting Sarah's limbs.

He dropped the red absol, and addressed all of them. " **Sūjikango, hebi wa futatabi watashitachi ni kuwawarimasu. Kanojo wa anata no nokori no bubun o motto gōmon ni nokoshite, kanojo no jikan o totta.** ( **The snake joins us again, after several minutes. She took her time, leaving the rest of you to more torture.** )"

Erza summoned her weapons again, before grainy red rectangle images flashed across her body, and she found herself holding her rapier only, her flail landing on the ground. Out of control, she inverted it and held the blade towards her own heart, being held still.

" **Tsugini, anata wa `watashi wa tatakai tsudzukeru' to iimashita.** ( **Next, you would have said 'I will keep fighting'.** )" GLITCH mocked her, before he exerted his powers once more. Jake found himself powering up an iron tail and holding it against his chest as it if to hurt him. Caleb held a small shadow claw to his chest, and Sarah was forced to release a water pulse, the sphere compacting and staying in front of her. The empty creatures struggled, not ready to accept their fate.

" **Kore wa tanoshīdesuga, akiraka ni, watashi wa jibun no sōzō-mono o tsukuru koto de yori yoku suru koto ga dekimasu. Watashi no tsugi no kokoromi wa watashi ni tsume o oku koto o aete shinaideshou. Tsumari, anata wa 4-ri ga shinu hitsuyō ga arimasu.** ( **This has been fun, but clearly, I can do better with making my creations. My next attempts will not dare to lay a claw on me. That means you four will have to die.** )"

GLITCH turned, focusing his attention on the world around them, changing it, tearing away most of what remained of Treasure Town with mere thoughts, the empty world being converted into a burning, hellish landscape. " **Watashi wa,-ji no kokoromi ga yori ōku no omoide de anata o sōzō suruga, anata ga mokushiroku no yuiitsu no seizon-shadearu to shinjiru koto o kettei shimashita. Dono kurai hayaku anata o kowasu koto ga dekimasu ka?** ( **I have decided that my next attempt will be creating you with more memories, but believing that you were the only survivors of an apocalypse. How quickly can I break you then?** )"

While he spoke, Caleb turned and nodded to the others. This trigger brought each pokemon to attention, as Caleb silently prepared a weakened attack that he could pull off without moving. Jake and Erza did the same, magical leaves and electricity starting to spark, and Sarah managed to open her mouth.

Despite being weakened, the flamethrower, magical leaf, thunderbolt and blue blade attack that wasn't quite psycho cut drove into the unaware GLITCH's back. An earth shaking roar responded to them through the smoke, as a pulse of raw power threw them back.

When Erza's ears stopped ringing, she found an even more beaten and bloody GLITCH facing her with the others next to her. She felt like her powers were gone. Her body felt even more fragile than it was before, which had already felt far beneath what she'd remembered, the memories that GLITCH had given them. GLITCH backed up, an expression of raw rage present on his face.

" **Watashi wa ima anata o korosu tsumoridesu, anata wa tamashī no nai dōbutsudesu** ( **I'm going to kill you now, you soulless animals)** " he declared, power radiating from him. Erza looked at herself, seeing that her plant-like body was slowly wilting. Fear spiked through her as she realized that her body was slowly failing and she didn't know how to stop it. Jake seemed to have his lightning turning against him, while Sarah's body seemed to be heating up rapidly. " **Nantoka, subete nimokakawarazu, anata wa kami o uchi makasu koto ga dekinai koto o rikai dekimasendeshita. Watashi wa tomarazu, watashiniha mugen no chikara ga ari, anata ga watashi o tomeru tame ni nanimodekinai-** ( **Somehow, despite everything, you failed to understand that you cannot beat a god. I am unstoppable, I have unlimited power, and there is nothing you can do to stop me-** )"

Something happened. A beam of concentrated, magenta light pierced GLITCH from behind. His eyes widened as he destabilized in the air and dropped to the ground in a heap, shuddering.

" **Watashi wa shinu koto wa dekimasen... Watashi wa shimasen…** ( **I can't die… I won't…** )"

Then he vanished. The world around them began to rumble. Erza realized she wasn't wilting any more. Not that she was recovering, but she wasn't getting closer to dying. Looking to her left, she saw that Jake was being hurt my his electricity, but slowly, Sarah was sweating, but wasn't getting worse, and Caleb seemed to be holding his paw to his chest. Then, he looked up at them.

"Kare wa nigete ikite ikimashita. Kiku. Kare no chikara ni yotte sekai wa musuba remashitaga, sugu ni kierudeshou. (He ran away to live. Listen. The world was held together by his power, which will fade soon.)" Caleb told them right away.

"Karebu... Dō shita no? (Caleb… What happened?)" Sarah asked, panting breathlessly.

Caleb nodded ahead, and they all looked up, finding that cloaked unicorn standing where she had been since GLITCH forgot about her. The sparks coming from her horn were fading away with finality. Caleb began to walk up to her, GLITCH's power starting to flicker in the air around them. Destabilizing, breaking down.

They met eyes.

"Arigatōgozaimashita. (Thank you.)"

The mare just watched him. Her eyes were not empty at all. Instead, they seemed genuinely full of life.

Caleb turned to the others. "GLITCH wa honmono no kurushimi o hikiokosu dake no kanjō-tekina keiken o tōshite watashitachi no tamashī o kizuite imashita. Shikashi, hoka no dareka ga kurushinde iru no o miru yori kanjō o yūhatsu suru koto wa arimasen. Kanojo wa GLITCH ga watashitachi ni shite ita koto o subete mitekimashita. Watashitachiha tada no kurushimi no tame ni tsukawa rete imashitaga, GLITCH wa sekkyokutekini chikaradzuyo-sa to antei-sei o kizuku koto kara tamashī o mamotte imashita. Watashitachi no hontō no jiko ga surunode, watashitachiha watashitachi no yō ni kōdō shite imasu. Kanojo wa GLITCH ni taishite kōdō shimashita. Nazenara, kanojo wa watashitachi ga mō kurushimu koto o nozomanaikaradesu. (GLITCH was building our souls through emotional experience, just enough to cause genuine suffering. But there is nothing more emotion-inducing than watching someone else suffer. She has been watching everything GLITCH was doing to us. While we were just being used for suffering, and GLITCH was actively keeping our souls from building in strength and stability, she was being left alone. We are acting as we do because our real selves do. She acted against GLITCH because she didn't want us to suffer any longer.)" he explained.

He now looked at her. "Watashi ga anata no jūkō o dore dake hidoku kizutsuketa ka de anata wa hanasu koto ga dekimasen. Watashi wa, ikimono to shite hijō ni chikai shikaku o motsu hito ga ima watashi ni itte iru nodarou ka to omoimasu. Shikashi, watashi wa genjiten de yarubeki koto ga arimasu. (You can't speak because of how badly I damaged your muzzle. I wonder what someone who very nearly qualifies as alive would say to me right now. But there's something else I have to do at the moment.)"

The others watched as Caleb seemed to focus, and GLITCH's unbound power began concentrating, in reaction to a mental command, having nothing tying it to GLITCH himself. Caleb raised a paw, and collected that concentrated mass of red, grainy rectangles in his paw, turning and looking at the unicorn.

She shook her head, eyes going wide as she shakily took a step back.

"GLITCH no chikara ga kanzen ni torinozoka rereba, kono sekai wa hōkai shi, watashitachi no nokori no hito ni totte itami no nai hodo hayaku kierudeshou. (This world will break apart and disappear fast enough to be painless for the rest of us if GLITCH's power is wholly removed.)" Caleb continued, pointing his flickering paw at the unicorn. "Shikashi, saisho ni kokoro ni ukabu no wa, sono chikara o seitai ni oshitsukeru kotodesu. Watashi wa, sore ga fureru mono wa nani demo tamashī o kansei sa seru to omoushi, watashi wa sore o doko no bashode mo naku tagenteki ni eikyū ni okikaete, watashi no yūjin ni wa shinai. Anata wa watashi ga nanrakano katachi no jihi kara kore o yatte inai koto o nozonde iru kamo shiremasen… (But, the first thing that comes to mind is shoving that power into a living body. I suspect that it will complete the soul of whatever it touches, and I will not do that to any of my friends, displacing them permanently in a multiverse with no place. You may be hoping that I won't be doing this out of some form of mercy…)"

Silence.

"Anata wa watashi ga tomeru koto o uttaeru koto wa dekimasen. (You can't plead for me to stop.)" Caleb continued. "Gen no karebu no subete no omoide kara, watashi ga mananda koto ga arimasu. (From all the memories from the original Caleb, there's something I learned.)"

He pointed his foreleg fully forward, that power seeming to charge under his directive as the earth crumbled into nothingness around them.

"Watashi wa nani mo kinishinai hito no tame ni jihi o motte imasen. (I have no mercy for those I care nothing for.)"

He fired. red lightning crossed the way in an instant, blasting the mare back. She spu backwards, violently landing on her back and sliding to a stop. That power flickered through her body as that power slowly turned from red to silver, manifesting in her mane, tail, and eyes, before filtering through the rest of her body and then fading away. She lay there, broken, even as Caleb stepped back and met eyes with the soulless versions of his friends. There was silence as everything crumbled at an accelerated rate, vanishing. The stars blinked out, the earth and the air faded to black, and the soulless copies were released from that torment in the blink of an eye.

All that was left was blackness and silence, and a single form hanging without gravity. Unconscious, but alive. In the darkness, flickering silver, grainy rectangles flickered across her form, her cuts and bruises healing up. Slowly, she opened her eyes as her forelegs and snouts began to repair themselves, one jolt at a time, which was clearly painful, as she jolted in reaction to every one of those. Eventually though, the unicorn's eyes snapped open fully as she seemed to be in perfect condition once more.

Silently, she moved around, looking at her forehooves with some sort of comprehension behind her eyes, Feeling that augmented power that had been drilled into her. After a moment, she forced it forward, and tried to change space around her. After a moment of pure ingenuity, she created a gateway that opened up somewhere else, manipulating reality with some difficulty, considering that this power wasn't meant for her body, but had been adapted into a weaker form that she could function with.

In that moment, she put a hoof on the edge of it, and looked through it up close. It was beautiful. A white mountain stood tall on the horizon, and in between her and it were forests, plains, a river that passed through, and an indentation through the middle, making up ninety percent of what she could see, as if the river itself had once been miles wider, forming a valley of sorts for all of that beauty to reside in. There were even some old fissures that were free of the water, filled with what could possibly be moss covering the rocks.

She didn't have memories from what she was based on, only a fundamental understanding of her abilities, which might have been based on the universe she was made for, or the universe she came from, she wasn't certain. All she knew was that sentence she had been given by the soulless creature, to exist as a soulful being in an empty darkness for the rest of her life, could be avoided with the additional power she had been given with it.

Without hesitation, she stepped through, and fell with gravity into a bed of flowers overlooking the valley. Above her, that portal fizzled out of existence, leaving a sealed void that would never again be crossed by any living creature.

The azure unicorn would live, and she intended to. She took her first steps into a world she arguably didn't belong, but like any creature with a soul, was wholly capable of finding a place in. It was the start of something new.

* * *

So. A Jojo's Bizzare Adventure crossover with pokemon and a touch of MLP, despite having no understanding of the series JoJo's Bizzare Adventure.

Did I nail it? Did I fail it? I'd love to know how you thought of it in a review.

In the meantime... Wow. This inspiration hit me, and I just... Wrote it. In a few days. When I should have been writing Silent, when I should have been writing New Age. Have I summoned a brigade of pitchfork-wielding people who so desperately want to find out how the Mute/Riley rematch will go only to be denied that pleasure? Who knows? I will soon enough, I guess.

I don't think I'll go with a horror tag again. A Heart of Ice hurt me to write, as much as my reviewers seemed to find that it hurt to read, emotionally. This one didn't have as much of an impact due to circumstance, but I'm not confident I nailed the horror part. Anyways, I would like to wish that you all have a good day.

...By the way, when I was writing Caleb striking Trixie down with the bolt of GLITCH's power, and had her spiraling away, the mental image I based it on was the scene in the Harry Potter movie where Voldemort blasts Cedric. Don't winge about spoilers; That movie's been out since 2005, the book even longer. If you haven't seen it yet, you may just be procrastinating. Like I am.

Have a nice day!


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